This is a provisional appllication Ser. No. 60/047,459 filed May 22, 1997.
The present invention generally relates to amusement equipment, such as facilities for games and other competitive activities. More specifically, the invention relates to a water amusement target game in which participants are subject to being sprayed with water under certain game conditions.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the development and popularity of amusement parks which have as a major theme water rides and games. Such amusement parks frequently include wave pools, variously configured water slides, inner tube rides, games with water balloons, and floating rivers where individuals wearing bathing suits may participate in the water rides and games for a general admission price. As amusement parks having a water theme become more popular, there has become a need for more diverse and varied water rides or games which can be offered in order to attract individuals to the theme park. Particularly, this is true for water amusement games which have become a major attraction.
In addition to the large amusement parks, smaller parks, built on land less than an acre in size to a few acres, and consisting of a few attractions such as miniature golf, batting cages, Go-Kart tracks, and video arcades also have a need for new attractions to attract new customers and keep current customers coming back. These new attractions must take up little space and require low capital investment. These parks are open during the hot summer months. Often, during the hottest time of the day --the afternoon, these parks have low attendance as customers prefer to patronized their parks during the cooler evening hours. There is a need to offer an attraction at these parks which would entice people to attend during the hot, off peak hours such as a water amusement game.
An example of an amusement game utilizing water is, U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,913 to Kepler, called Basketball Game With Water Spray System. This game consists of a facility and equipment for playing a game similar to basketball. There is a sensor in the hoop or basket which detects when a ball has successfully passed through. A mechanism keeps score as to which team makes more baskets. When the game is over, the losing team is doused with a spray of water.
As taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,161 to Galphin, discloses a Water Amusement Game where opposing players stationed in pads resembling submarines fire water cannons at a target. The target is moved by the force of the water fired from the canons. A sensor detects the movement of the target and causes water to be squirted at the players who are less successful at firing the water canon at the target. As the target is forced by the water from the canons closer to the losing players, a switch is tripped and the door of the submarine is locked and a drenching amount of water is dumped on the losing team and audible sounds are emitted giving the impression that the submarine is sinking.
Another example of a game utilizing water is U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,518 to Erlandson et al, which discloses a Water Balloon Game. In this game, players position themselves inside booths, each booth positioned at an opposite end inside an enclosed area, and launch water balloons via a sling shot at each other. A successful shot will cause the water balloon to strike an overhead protector with small openings on the opposing booth. The impact of the balloon on the protector causes the balloon to burst and douse the opposing player(s) within the enclosure with water which passes through the openings of the overhead protector.
From the above discussion, it can be appreciated that prior art does utilize water in games to increase the enjoyment of the activities and cause its participants to get wet. However, each game has inherent characteristics that limit its desirability to amusement park operators. The Basketball Game with Water Spray System can be dangerous when the playing surface gets wet and participants must run and dribble on wet surfaces. In addition, wet surfaces make it hard to dribble a ball. The Water Amusement Game is a very complex game where participants are enclosed in "submarines". If participants are claustrophobic or easily panicked then when the doors shut and the players are doused, participants could be caused undue psychological harm. These games are very complex with sophisticated mechanisms making the possibility of breakdowns more likely, increasing maintenance costs, and ultimately increase the overall purchase price of the games. The Water Balloon Game requires operators to fill hundreds of balloons at the beginning of each day by hand. This requires a lot of time during the short preparation time operators have before they open their parks. It also requires additional man-hours which add to the cost of the amusement park. Also, the players in this game are confined to the booths which severely limit their mobility. This gives participants an enclosed feeling and reduces the enjoyment of the game.
The present invention is a relatively inexpensive game for amusement operators to purchase. It has fewer parts than much of the prior art (U.S. Pat. Nos.5,390,913 and 5,011,161) which may result in less maintenance and down-time. It can be played on safe surfaces such as sand, gravel, non-skid soft synthetic surfaces. It requires less space. Compared to the Water Balloon Game, it requires no set-up time such as filling balloons with water and it is more open since participants do not have to play inside a booth. Prior art is also limited to narrow applications in well defined areas. It would be desirable if a game could be utilized in a number of settings of various sizes or appearances or combined with other attractions in an amusement park to enhance the enjoyment or reduce the boring experience of waiting in long lines.